Toaster Ovens: Ratings of Sources

Our AssessmentThis test was originally published in Cook's Illustrated magazine in March of 2011, and was updated in July 2014. Eleven toaster ovens are tested by editors of Cook's Illustrated. The ovens are evaluated for cooking performance, accuracy, toasting and ease of use. Two are Highly Recommended, one is Recommended (and is designated as a Best Buy), four are Recommended with Reservations, and four are Not Recommended.

Our AssessmentThis is an update of TheSweetHome.com's original toaster oven round up of May 2013. In this newer review, editors thoroughly test six toaster ovens, as well as considering two previously tested. All are put through their paces over nine hours of research and 14 hours of testing, including toasting breads, baking cookies, cooking pizza and roasting potatoes. The Breville BOV800XL ultimately takes the top spot, with the Panasonic Flash Xpress Toaster Oven and the Hamilton Beach Set & Forget Toaster Oven with Convection Cooking as runners up.

Our AssessmentEditors of ConsumerReports.org test 22 toaster ovens for baking, broiling, ease of use and cleaning, color range, full batch and successive batch performance, and the ability to evenly toast one slice of bread. There are quite a few consumer reviews on toaster ovens as well, but editors do not take them into account. Products are rated on a scale up to 100 and are ranked against each other as well.

Our AssessmentRy Crist and other CNET editors test four popular toaster ovens, including the Breville BOV800XL, the Panasonic Flash Xpress, the Frigidaire Professional 6-slice and the Cuisinart CSO-300. Each oven gets a thorough test and review, and is given an up-to-5-star score as well as a designation of "OK" to "Excellent."

Our AssessmentTesters at the Good Housekeeping Research Institute (GHRI) test 34 toaster ovens and give each a thorough overview. This is an older review and some of the toaster ovens are discontinued, but many are still readily available and are top-rated products elsewhere.

Our AssessmentAmazon.com has hundreds of toaster ovens in all models and price ranges. It is an excellent source for real world reviews of toaster ovens over the long-term and to see how they hold up over time. It's also a great way to judge performance and ease-of-use from actual home cooks. The top-rated toaster ovens get hundreds, some thousands, of customer reviews.

Our AssessmentToaster ovens at BestBuy.com don't get quite as many reviews as at Amazon.com, but some get more than 100 customer reviews. They also carry a very good selection, with a few having overall averages of more than 4 stars.

Our AssessmentCooking.com has fewer toaster ovens and many fewer reviews than the consumer review sites above, but it still has a sufficient selection to make it worthwhile as a source. In addition to ratings, reviewers have the option to recommend a product, and to indicate if they think it's a good value. Separately on the site, Cooking.com editors list top-rated products in each category based upon the overall number of reviews and total scores.

Our AssessmentBedBathandBeyond.com again has fewer toaster ovens overall and they have fewer reviews, but it's still a good resource for some of the most popular products. Reviews are also broken down by both value and quality, and reviewers have the opportunity to indicate whether or not they would recommend the product to a friend.

Our AssessmentMacys.com is home to quite a few higher-end toaster ovens and many of them have a decent number of reviews. Cuisinart, Breville and KitchenAid are the top-rated products here. Unlike other sites, toasters come up with the same frequency as toaster ovens, so it's not as easy to sort products.

Our AssessmentOn the other end of the spectrum, Walmart.com is a great source for more affordable toaster ovens, such as Hamilton Beach and Black & Decker. Many of these appliances get hundreds of reviews, and tend to be higher-rated than the same item at other sites. Reviewers have the option of noting if they would recommend the toaster oven to a friend.

This is our assessment of the review’s relevance, clarity of testing and thoroughness.

Read more about our Ratings Criteria by clicking the link at the top of the page.

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